Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

What took us so long to boot Donald Sterlings out of the NBA?

The players
should have boycotted.We shouldn’t be
surprised because most of the owners are racist.Why was she recording him in the first
place?Why was she with a man that old,
and isn’t he married?

These are some
of the comments made after the world was exposed to the bigotry of Donald
Sterling.It is true that his disdain
for black people was documented long before he was caught doing what most
bigots fear – having one of those closed door conversations recorded. Someone should have told him what you do in
the dark will come to the light.

Elgin Baylor,
who served as the Clippers executive vice president and general manager from
1996 -2008, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Sterling in 2009,
claiming he was underpaid and “treated as a token because of his race”.

By now, most
people know that Sterling settled a lawsuit in 2006 filed by the U.S. Justice
Department.The lawsuit accused
Sterling's rental company of refusing to lease Beverly Hills apartments to
blacks and Latinos in his properties in Koreatown.After settling the case, Sterling continued
to deny the charges. $2.75 million is a load of money when you are innocent.
You feel me on that one?

Some folks
never learn from their mistakes.Before
forking up close to $3 million, Sterling settled a lawsuit in 2003. The lawsuit
was filed by the nonprofit Housing Rights Center and a group of tenants who
lived in Sterling's properties.The
lawsuit accused Sterling of "numerous discriminatory statements and
housing practices," according to court documents.The terms of the settlement were never
disclosed.

So, we know
Sterling’s position related to hanging out with black people and other
minorities. That is what he said on the tape. Remember, I don’t want black
people in my house. His racism is no secret, and it has never been.What people are asking, after he was caught
saying what people already knew, is why nothing was done before now?

Despite the
multiple lawsuits filed against Sterling, the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP
honored him for his work in giving tickets to inner city youth in 2009.The group was set to hand Sterling the Lifetime
Achievement Award on May 15.

How did that
happen?

There is a
long list of questions.Like, how can a
woman who is black and Mexican date a known racist?How can players, aware of his racist ways,
sign to play there?How can a black
coach agree to coach his team?How does
his wife deal with his sickening ways?Why
would a woman who looks like that pick a man who looks like that? Well, we know
the answer to the last one.

Needing to
get paid aside, where’s the courage?Where’s the righteous indignation preceding all of this becoming public?Why didn’t the NBA do something?Why, why…?

But wait just
a minute.Isn’t the blood on all of our
hands?Isn’t this a gaudy reminder of
how over the top wealth can be used to get people to turn their heads to things
that disgust them the most?Was it the
billionaire at the end of Sterling’s name that blinded the vision of the NAACP,
the players, owners, coaches, girlfriend, wife and fans?

Aren’t we all
guilty of allowing money to keep us silent when bigotry shows up?Why did black fans continue to buy tickets
from a team owned by a man caught more than once with his bigotry dangling on his
sleeves?

Maybe it’s
about our willingness to put our love for the game above principles.How else can you explain those who continue
to root for the Washington Redskins when the owner has clearly stated he doesn’t
care about what Native Americans think?I
suppose it’s cool, in the minds of some, as long as it’s redskin and not
blackskin.

Yes, there
are numerous questions that beg answers. Like, how long should we wait to
forget the past?Can I forget the roles
that BMW and Mercedes Benz played in bankrolling Nazi Germany?At what point does one forgive and forget,
and at what cost? Besides, isn’t it all old news?Call me an elephant, because I don’t forget
that easy.

There’s
more.Do we disregard the sexism and misogyny
of those with enough money to make it appear as the games of rich men?Should we overlook the assumption that women
serve the purpose of satisfying men with power and money?Can I avoid the thought that Sterling is
mimicking some old school pimp moves by assuming he owns his women just like he
owns the players on his team?That’s a
serious plantation move.

Yes, I’m
guilty of hating both the player and the game.

But, tell me,
are these the benefits of having enough money to make it look like something
different – the benefits of billionaire
status – while holding others to a different expectation?

So, who’s to
blame for what just happened?

Maybe, just
maybe, it’s the consequence of living within a culture that gives people with
money a do not go to jail pass for refusing to live by the rules others take
for granted.

If so, we
need another set of rules.

Adam Silver
did just that on Tuesday.It doesn’t
matter how much money you have player. You can’t play here anymore.

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Carl W. Kenney II

Carl was named the best serious columnist of 2011 by the North Carolina Press Association for his work with the News & Observer's community paper The Durham News and in 2016 by the Missouri Press Association for his columns in the Columbia Missourian. He is a columnist with the News & Observer and Co-Executive Producer of "God of the Oppressed" an upcoming documentary film on black liberation theology. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri - School of Journalism and Adjunct Instructor at Duke University, the Center for Documentary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education at Duke University and attained a Master of Divinity. He was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 14, 2005. He is a freelance writer with his commentary appearing in The Washington Post, Religious News Services,The Independent Weekly and The Durham Herald-Sun. Carl is the author of two novels: “Preacha’ Man” and the sequel “Backslide”.
He has led congregations in Missouri and North Carolina